Inclusion

At AT&T, we’re driven by our purpose: Connecting people to greater possibility. Every day, we bring this purpose to life for our customers, employees, communities and suppliers. And wherever we have a presence, we foster inclusion where all walks of life are welcome, and everyone’s beliefs and cultures are respected.

Being one of the largest U.S.-based employers in the private sector, with approximately 149,900 employees¹ across 52 countries, we’re constantly working to retain, grow and attract talent to create a workforce that can provide unique insights into all facets of American life and build expert connections with different communities. 

Our company is built to connect people to greater possibility. To do that well, it’s important that we respect and embrace a world that represents a wide range of social customs, cultural traditions, viewpoints, backgrounds and abilities.  

• Our Employee Groups (EGs) continued to be the heart of our culture—just as they have for more than 50 years. We’re proud to have nearly 37,000 active EG members who are positively impacting our communities through networking, mentorship and social good.
• By returning to an in-person event, more employees attended our 2023 Employee Group Conference, themed “Connecting Changes Everything,” than ever before. Almost 1,100 employees gathered in-person, with another 15,000 attending online to celebrate the ways our employees are advancing inclusion. It was our most well-received employee group conference ever, with attendees giving it a record 95% “overall willingness to recommend” score.
• 33% of AT&T employees engaged in volunteerism and charitable giving in 2023. Their volunteerism included providing support in our Connected Learning Centers, which offer free access to high-speed internet, computers, educational resources, and support from community leaders and our employees. With 34 centers nationwide by the end of 2023, these spaces facilitate digital education and community engagement through collaboration with Boys & Girls Club of America, National Urban League and other nonprofit spaces embedded in communities.
• In collaboration with Gallaudet University, we developed a proof-of-concept 5G-connected helmet for deaf and hard of hearing football players, enabling equitable, visual communication with coaches and enhancing game tempo and accuracy, thus empowering players to achieve their full potential.

Governance

The following groups are responsible for oversight and management of our company’s efforts to foster inclusion: 

• Governance & Policy Committee (GPC): The GPC of the AT&T Board of Directors (Board) has oversight over all environmental, social and governance issues. Vice President (VP)—Culture & Inclusion updates the GPC on a regular basis.  
• VP—Culture & Inclusion: Our VP—Culture & Inclusion spearheads initiatives to cultivate inclusion and belonging and drives deeper understanding and engagement within the business. The VP—Culture & Inclusion also works to foster employee development and enhance the employee experience.
• Senior Executive Inclusion Council: The Senior Executive Inclusion Council is composed of senior executives and officers in the business and represents more than 100,000 employees. The council works to champion inclusion across business units.
• Senior Vice President (SVP)—Advertising: Our SVP—Advertising leads our AT&T Advertising team and is responsible for creating campaigns reflecting the needs of business and consumer customers, as well as the value and reputation of our brand.

Pay Equity

AT&T is committed to pay equity, and we regularly review and adapt compensation when needed to ensure fair and equitable pay practices. Our Total Rewards package is crucial in attracting, retaining and motivating employees, and we pledge to remain competitive and in line with the market. 

Attracting, Developing & Retaining Talent

We take pride in bringing together talented people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences who serve our customers every day. Operating in all 50 states and around the world, we’re proud of our workforce that spans five generations.

We strive to be an employer of choice, offering competitive benefits and pay, along with enriching development opportunities that propel career advancement.

• Our skills-based hiring approach means that less than 5% of all AT&T roles require a college degree.
• Our tuition reimbursement program has been used by approximately 9,000 employees in the past five years.
• Approximately 2,000 frontline employees were promoted to management in 2023.
• We provide training and apprenticeships in collaboration with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers to boost skills and education for fiber technicians.

We’re inspiring continuous learning and building career ladders where employees can grow and feel challenged by their work.

• Emphasizing a personalized approach to career growth, we foster mentorship, training courses, and more than 50 nanodegrees and partner degree programs with colleges and universities.
• Our annual Leading with Distinction experience brings together our general management leadership team to align on our strategy, embrace our culture and invest in the development of our people. And our Management Development Program targets our frontline managers to build a bench of ready-now, promotable talent. 

We’re focused on creating a sustainable pipeline of future leaders.

• We offer more than 20 internship and developmental programs to bring in new talent to spur innovation in the workplace and create career paths to all areas of AT&T. This includes EDGE, which focuses on developing undergraduate talent through an exploratory, 10-to-12-week internship program.

Employee Awareness & Engagement

Employee Groups

To create a culture of inclusion, we encourage all employees to join one or more of our Employee Groups. These voluntary, employee-led groups exemplify our company commitment to fostering a sense of community and providing professional development opportunities and occasions for community service.

As of 2023, nearly 37,000 AT&T employees participated in these groups. The Employee Groups represent the full cultural and experiential dimensions of our workforce.

In 2023, several Employee Groups were recognized for their significant achievements in providing development opportunities to their members, impacting their communities, promoting the AT&T brand and growing business efficiencies. Among the achievements:

• ICAE National launched the Affordable Connectivity Program on Tribal Lands initiative. The Native American community has historically been underserved in terms of wireless and wireline broadband access.
• The NETwork BICP (Black Integrated Communications Professionals) (Dallas/Fort Worth Chapter) launched a Bridging the Digital Divide initiative, working through the AT&T Believes program, to connect students to a new world of digital learning. The initiative focuses on empowering future generations of Black leaders and transforming communities through digital literacy.
• Ability’s National Chapter launched a Career Differentiator series focused on finding innovative ways to stand out in the job market.
• oxyGEN’s National Chapter launched the LEAD program, with the goal of empowering professionals who have recently entered the corporate world through technology, finance and leadership programs, as well as for employees at different stages in their careers.

Employee Resources & Tools

In 2021, we launched the Equality First+ app, giving employees access to a hub of content and hands-on tools. The app is intended to foster an inclusive workplace and to empower employees to celebrate their commonality and find understanding in their differences. More than 16,000 people have used the Equality First+ app since it launched. 

In 2023, we expanded Equality First+ with the launch of the Inclusive Leadership Development experience, an engaging social learning platform in which supervisors learn together and from each other. The platform is helping to advance inclusive behaviors among our people leaders. 

Inclusion in Marketing

Our customer base reflects the rich tapestry of cultures and backgrounds found around the globe, representing a multitude of nationalities and traditions. Ensuring they are positively represented in our marketing and advertising is an important part of our approach:

• Inclusion Playbook: The AT&T Inclusion Playbook is intended to provide a nonbiased approach to creating content and is designed as a tool for increasing innovation in ad-copy testing. The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) recognized this program for leading positive change.
• Creative Development: During creative development and production, we work to ensure our messaging resonates across a wide variety of social customs, cultural traditions, viewpoints, backgrounds and abilities. For example, the AT&T Fiber advertising team meets with a variety of stakeholders to review and incorporate feedback on creative content. We encourage our ad agencies to cast inclusive talent both in front of and behind the camera.
• Association of National Advertisers (ANA) #SeeHer: We are actively focused on helping to create a gender-bias-free media ecosystem through key partnerships and strategic initiatives.   

Recognition

Although awards and recognition are not the driving force for our commitment and work toward fostering workplace inclusion, we celebrate achieving recognition by a community of peers and industry leaders. This recognition includes:

• Fortune: #1 telecom in Fortune’s World’s Most Admired.
• Comparably: #4 Happiest Employees, #16 Best Company Culture.
• LinkedIn: #6 on LinkedIn’s Top Companies to Grow Your Career (third year in top 10).

We believe bringing everybody on the internet is a national imperative. Unfortunately, far too many U.S. households remain without access to reliable and affordable connectivity. Underserved and rural communities are particularly impacted by the digital divide as it is a barrier to education, economic opportunity, upward mobility and social connection fostered by internet access.

AT&T is putting the best of our reach and resources to work to bring the benefits of the internet to all. From 2021 through the end of 2023, we invested $2 billion to help expand access, affordability and adoption for more households and communities, helping connect 5 million people over three years. In 2024, we committed an additional $3 billion—scaling our total to $5 billion since 2021—and set an ambitious goal to help 25 million people get and stay connected to affordable, high-speed internet access throughout this decade. 

We remain steadfast in our commitment to fostering an inclusive workplace that celebrates a wide range of social customs, cultural traditions, viewpoints, backgrounds and abilities. These efforts encompass our hiring initiatives, products and services development with accessibility in mind, collaborations with external organizations, and more. 

Looking ahead, our mission to connect people to great possibilities remains unchanged. We will continue embracing the richness of our workforce and customers, striving for a future where everyone feels valued and empowered. 

• AT&T Accessibility website
• AT&T Ethics & Compliance
• AT&T Proxy Statement
• AT&T Supplier Inclusivity website